The Trump regime has more billionaires in it than any previous administration. The list of billionaires in Trump's White House includes Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, but he may not be a bona fide billionaire after all.
You see, Ross is a very bad liar. Forbes Magazine has removed Ross from their list of billionaires because, according to them, he has systematically lied about his wealth by billions.
It's not necessarily shocking to find out that an old rich man who works for Donald Trump has exaggerated his wealth, but Ross has also apparently misled the public.
Forbes had listed his net worth at $2.9 billion on The Forbes 400, a number Ross claimed was far too low: He maintained he was closer to $3.7 billion. Now, after examining the financial-disclosure forms he filed after his nomination to President Donald Trump's Cabinet, which showed less than $700 million in assets, Forbes was intent on removing him entirely.
Ross protested, citing trusts for his family that he said he did not have to disclose in federal filings. "You're apparently not counting those, which are more than $2 billion," he said. When asked for documentation, the 79-year-old demurred, citing "privacy issues." Told that Forbes nonetheless planned to remove him from the list for the first time in 13 years, he responded: "As long as you explain that the reason is that assets were put into trust, I'm fine with that." And when did he make the transfer that allowed him to not disclose over $2 billion? "Between the election and the nomination."
So began the mystery of Wilbur Ross' missing $2 billion. And after one month of digging, Forbes is confident it has found the answer: That money never existed.
I don't know what's worse: claiming billions in assets that don't exist, or not disclosing the fake assets to the public during his confirmation process.
Beyond lying to the public, Forbes has made other serious accusations which you can read in full at the link above. The publication alleges that Ross has benefited tremendously by exaggerating his wealth to attract investors and business partners who've clearly regretted doing business with him on more than a few occasions.
That sounds a lot like Trump himself, doesn't it?
Ross has also been caught with his hand in the Russian cookie jar. I would not be surprised if he resigns before the end of the year if not the end of the month. All of this public scrutiny is going to harm his ability to lie about his wealth and attract future business partners.